Wednesday, March 21, 2018

WOLVES CONTINUE CONFERENCE ROLL: Picked by conference coaches as the GNAC preseason favorites, Western Oregon has met all expectations thus far as it sits in first place at 9-10, 9-3 GNAC. Despite a rough start to the season, the Wolves have bounced back to earn two convincing series wins and a split to begin the conference season.

Western Oregon enters week four of GNAC play as the best pitching and fielding team in the conference. The Wolves pace the league with a 4.67 earned run average and have struck out 118 batters all season. In terms of fielding, the Wolves have almost been flawless, especially during the conference season. As a team, Western Oregon is fielding at a .969 percentage and have committed just 13 errors through 12 GNAC games. The Wolves continue their 14-game road trip with a visit to in-state rival Concordia this weekend.

GARCIA A STAR FOR THE YELLOWJACKETS: What a season it has been thus far for Montana State Billings junior Jalen Garcia. The outfielder led all GNAC players last week with a .550 batting average as he knocked in seven RBIs and three doubles on 11 hits. Garcia also leads the conference in batting average (.418), RBIs (26), runs scored (22), triples (3), total bases (57) and stolen bases (12). Garcia is 22nd in Division II with 1.44 RBIs per game and has recorded at least one hit in seven of his eight GNAC appearances this season. He leads a Yellowjackets team that is ranked No. 7 in the NCBWA Division II West Region Poll for the third consecutive week.

GNAC COUNTRY MOURNS LOSS OF GARLAND: Saint Martin’s head baseball coach Ken Garland passed away Friday evening, March 16, at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. Ken was Saint Martin’s beloved baseball head coach and the dedicated supervisor of the grounds crew.

Ken was named Saint Martin’s baseball head coach in 2008. From the beginning, he was a passionate believer of hard work both in the classroom and on the field. In his first three seasons (2009, 2010, 2011), the Saints baseball team was named GNAC academic team champions.

Ken will be remembered for his dedication to his students and his big heart. He took great pride in being a member of the Saint Martin’s community – as a coach, as a staff member and as a caring colleague to all. Every December, Ken made a tradition of driving out to Rochester with a small group of staff to select a Christmas tree for Saint Martin’s annual staff and faculty Christmas party. He was a true Saint on and off the field.

Prior to his arrival at Saint Martin’s, Ken was the head baseball coach and defensive coordinator for the football team at the University of Puget Sound. He also coached both baseball and football at Willamette University and Linfield College.

Ken himself was a dual-sport athlete at Willamette University. He was the team captain and earned all-conference honors in football (three times) and baseball. After graduating with bachelor’s degrees in economics and physical education, Ken went on to attend Idaho State University to earn his master’s degree in athletic administration. Ken is survived by his wife, Cathy, their sons, Chris and Matthew, and their three grandchildren, Chase, Justin and Adelei.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Player
Jalen Garcia, Montana State Billings
OF/P • 6-0 • Jr. • Billings, Mont.

Garcia led the Yellowjackets to three wins at Saint Martin’s by hitting .550 in the four-game series. He went 11 for 20 with five runs and seven RBIs, a .800 slugging percentage and three stolen bases. Garcia opened in Friday’s 9-6 loss by going 3 for 5 with an RBI double and RBI triple and followed that by going 3 for 5 with a two-RBI single in the 9-1 win in the nightcap. After finishing with one hit in Saturday’s opener, Garcia went 4 for 4 in the 15-9 win in the nightcap, which included an RBI double and a two-RBI single.

Also Nominated: Jimmy Smith (Central Washington), Cole Crosby (Concordia), Cody Dykstra (Western Oregon).

Pitcher
Jacob Fricke, Western Oregon
P • 6-4 • Jr. • Glide, Ore.

Fricke threw seven scoreless innings to set the table for the Wolves’ 9-0 shutout of Central Washington in Sunday’s opener in Ellensburg. He allowed five hits, one walk and struck out seven to earn his first win this season. After pitching out of a jam in the first, Fricke then retired eight straight batters and did not allow a runner past first in his final six innings.

Also Nominated: Seth Pedersen (Central Washington), Adam Cox (Montana State Billings).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Taking on a red-hot Western Oregon team last weekend, Central Washington dropped three of four games. The Wolves won the opening three contests 13-4, 9-1 and 9-0 before the Wildcats claimed the series finale 7-2.

• Leading the GNAC with a .304 batting average this season, the Central Washington offense was silenced as it hit just .287 over the four games.

• Senior James Smith III led all Wildcats’ hitters with a .400 batting average as he went 6 for 15 with three runs batted in. His biggest outing came in the series finale where he blasted a three-run homer to right center to extend CWU’s lead in the second inning, 4-0. Consistent at the plate all year, he is second in the GNAC by batting .386 and leads the league with 34 hits and 12 doubles.

• Senior Ty Deckwa also batted .400 and recorded at least one hit in all four games for a two-day total of six. Deckwa was able to manage a pair of hits in the 7-2 win to go along with a run scored. Deckwa is averaging a .314 batting average this season and is tied for second in the GNAC with 21 runs scored.

• Senior Seth Pedersen pitched a complete game in the 7-2 win on Sunday, allowing two runs on five hits to go along with seven strikeouts to earn his first win of the season. Pedersen lowered his season ERA to 5.16 and is second on the team with 22 strikeouts.

• The Wildcats lead the GNAC with 224 hits. Their pitching staff is third in the conference with a 5.87 earned run average and has compiled 129 strikeouts this season. Central Washington has four of the GNAC’s top-11 hitters in terms of batting percentage with all four hitting better than .344.

• Central Washington continues its 16-game homestand as it hosts Saint Martin’s this weekend.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia earned a split last week against Northwest Nazarene. The Cavaliers took the series opener on Friday 9-6 before falling in the nightcap 7-6. On Saturday, Concordia took a 14-11 victory in game three but dropped a tight contest in the second game of the twinbill, 1-0.

• As a team, the Cavaliers were second in the GNAC with a .355 batting average and recorded the second-most doubles with 11 last week.
• In their exhibition against British Columbia on Tuesday, the Cavaliers took an 11-2 loss behind three hits and an RBI from freshman Dominic Enbody.

• Enbody also paced the Concordia offense by batting .538 in three games at NNU, totaling seven hits, two runs batted in and a double. In the 14-11 win, Enbody opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI single to right center. He ended the game with three hits and two runs scored. Three of Enbody’s four starts this year came in the weekend series. He is averaging a .600 batting average this season with seven RBIs.

• Senior Gabe Padukiewicz and junior Trevor Huddleston, who each hit .400 in the series, combined for eight hits, two RBIs and three doubles. The duo combined for five hits and an RBI in the 14-11 win. Padukiewicz is among the GNAC leaders with a .951 fielding percentage and is hitting .255 this season.

• Huddleston also performed well on the mound. Despite the loss on Sunday, the junior allowed just one run and four hits along with five strikeouts in six innings of work. He leads the GNAC with 18 strikeouts.

• Concordia is hitting .258 this year and has recorded 185 hits and 37 doubles.

• The Cavs return home this weekend for a four-game tilt against in-state rival Western Oregon.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• In an emotionally-charged series, Montana State Billings took three of four games against Saint Martin’s in Lacey. Despite dropping the series opener 9-6, the Yellowjackets bounced back to win the final three games 6-1, 11-4 and 15-9.

• The Yellowjackets’ offense exploded last weekend as they led the GNAC with a .367 batting average and totaled 55 hits, 20 of which were of the extra-base variety.

• Junior Jalen Garcia was named the GNAC Baseball Player of the Week after hitting .550 in the four-game series. He went 11 for 20 with five runs and seven RBIs, a .800 slugging percentage and three stolen bases. Garcia opened in Friday’s 9-6 loss by going 3 for 5 with an RBI double and RBI triple and followed that by going 3 for 5 with a two-RBI single in the 9-1 win in the nightcap. After finishing with one hit in Saturday’s opener, Garcia went 4 for 4 in the 15-9 win in the nightcap, which included an RBI double and a two-RBI single. He leads the GNAC with a .418 batting average, 12 steals and 26 runs batted in.

• Junior Connor Linebarger complemented Garcia by batting .500 last weekend. The junior went 2 for 2 in Saturday’s 11-4 win and recorded five RBIs. He followed that up with two hits and a two-run home run in the 15-9 victory. Linebarger is fourth on MSUB with a .311 average and has tallied 15 RBIs this year.

• Junior Steen Fredrickson continued his dominant season by throwing five innings of three-hit ball in Friday’s 6-1 win. He allowed no runs and struck out 10. Fredrickson is second in the GNAC with a 2.70 ERA and has allowed just 10 runs. He leads the league with 38 strikeouts.

• Montana State Billings is second in the GNAC with a .295 batting average and is among Division II leaders with 11 sacrifice flies. It remains No. 7 in the NCBWA Division II West Region Rankings for the third straight week.

• The Yellowjackets take on Northwest Nazarene this weekend in Nampa.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene came away with a split against Concordia after winning the nightcap of both doubleheaders. The Nighthawks took a 9-6 loss in the series opener before earning a 7-6 win in game two. On Saturday, NNU opened the day with a 14-11 loss but took the series finale 1-0.

• The Nighthawks’ offense batted .336 during the weekend and recorded 44 hits and 25 runs.

• Hitting for a .462 average over the four contests, junior Jesse Hilyard knocked in two RBIs on six hits and recorded a double and home run. Hilyard went 4 for 5 in the 14-11 loss, but drilled a solo home run to left center in the eighth inning to cut NNU’s deficit. The junior improved his batting average to .261 and is third on the Nighthawks with a .536 slugging percentage.

• Sophomore Parker Price was second on the team with a .438 batting average over the four contests. His numbers were solid all week as he recorded seven hits, five runs, four runs batted in and four doubles. Price was instrumental in NNU’s 7-6 win as he went 3 for 4 with two runs scored and an RBI double in the sixth inning. He eventually came in to score the game’s winning run later that inning. Price’s impressive offensive season sees him third in the GNAC with a .384 batting average and 20 RBIs.

• Earning his first win of the season via a seven-inning shutout on Sunday, junior Cooper Webster limited Concordia to five hits while recording eight strikeouts in the 1-0 series finale win.

• The Nighthawks are third in the GNAC batting .280 and are second in the league with 22 home runs. Northwest Nazarene hosts Montana State Billings this weekend for a four-game series in Nampa, Idaho.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Playing with heavy hearts last weekend, Saint Martin’s dropped three of four games to Montana State Billings. The Saints took the opener 9-6 before losing the final three contests 6-1, 11-4 and 15-9.

• The Saints were overpowered by MSUB’s offense as they allowed 10 or more hits in all four contests.

• Pacing the SMU offense was freshman Ryne Oshiro who hit .500 over the four games. Oshiro went 2 for 3 and drew two walks in the series opener and then went a perfect 3 for 3 for two RBIs and three runs scored in the series finale. Oshiro is second on the team with a .296 batting average and has recorded 61 assists this year.

• In three games, sophomore Jake Leonard hit .400 and drove in two RBIs on four hits. Leonard scored one run and went 3 for 5 in the Saints’ series-opening win. He leads the team with 80 putouts and has recorded nine hits in 14 games played.

• Junior Mickey Walker was the lone bright spot for the Saints’ pitching staff as he tossed seven innings of five-hit ball and allowed no runs with five strikeouts in the 6-1 defeat. The Yellowjackets went on to score all six of their runs in the game’s final inning. Walker is fifth in the GNAC with a 3.90 earned run average and is second in the league with 29 strikeouts.

• As a team, Saint Martin’s is hitting .239 this season and is one of two GNAC teams with five triples.

• Saint Martin’s begins a 12-game road trip with a visit to Central Washington this weekend in Ellensburg.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon won three of four games over Central Washington to take sole possession of first place. The Wolves took the opening three games 13-4, 9-1 and 9-0 before falling in the series finale 7-2.

• The Wolves’ pitching staff dominated the weekend series as it led all GNAC teams with a 3.19 earned run average with just nine walks and 23 strikeouts.

• Continuing his dominant season at the plate, senior Cody Dykstra paced the WOU offense by hitting .538 over the four contests. His most productive game came in the series opener where he went 3 for 5 with four runs batted in. Dykstra recorded an RBI single in the fifth inning before connecting on a three-run home run in the following inning to extend the Wildcats’ lead 12-4. He is batting .356 this season and has maintained a .973 fielding percentage.

• Going 7 for 15 during the series, junior Jared McDonald recorded three hits and four RBIs in the 13-4 win, homering twice. He followed that up with two hits, three runs and an RBI during the 9-0 win on Sunday. Playing in all 19 games this season, McDonald has a .258 batting average and maintains a .545 slugging percentage with 10 RBIs.

• Junior Jacob Fricke was named the GNAC Baseball Pitcher of the Week after throwing seven scoreless innings to set the table for the Wolves’ 9-0 shutout in Sunday’s opener. He allowed five hits, one walk and struck out seven to earn his first win this season. After pitching out of a jam in the first, Fricke then retired eight straight batters and did not allow a runner past first in his final six innings.

• Western Oregon is fourth in the GNAC with a .273 batting average. Fielding has been a strength this season as the Wolves lead the GNAC with a .967 fielding percentage. The pitching staff also paces the conference with a 4.67 earned run average.

• The Wolves take on Willamette Valley rival Concordia this weekend for a four-game swing.